The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Only San Ya and a few others were in the room, standing aside in fear looking at the debris on the floor. Da Ya and Er Ya were not there. When they heard Xu's roar, they hurried over from the backyard without wiping the water off their hands.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Daya and Erya asked. After that, seeing the debris on the ground, they also said seriously: "Who did it? Sanya, was it you?"

Xu was so heartbroken looking at the lard flowing all over the ground that she couldn't breathe. The weather wasn't completely cold yet, so the lard couldn't freeze.

This was made from the fat that had been specially cut off from the half of the pig that was used for the betrothal. The oil residue and lard were packed together in a small jar. Xu treated it very preciously and kept it in her own room, fearing that it would be stolen by the first and third wives if she put it in the kitchen.

Now that she didn't get a single bite and the whole thing was eaten, it goes without saying how Xu felt.

Seeing the stern expressions on their faces, San Ya knew she had made a big mistake and flatly denied it, "It wasn't me, it was Liu Ya."

Liu Ya was so frightened that she was shaking all over and couldn't speak clearly. She just kept repeating, "It's not me, it's not me."

Erya was the first one who didn't believe it: "If Liuya has that guts, then there must be something fishy."

Daya also frowned and said, "The lard is on the top shelf of the cabinet. Five-year-old and six-year-old can't even reach it."

Xu slammed the table and roared, "Sanya, tell me, is it you?!"

San Ya cried, "Mother, it's not me, it's not me, it's Si Ya."

Si Ya was already eight years old and usually a bit silly, but under the pressure, she finally wised up for once and quickly waved her hands in defense, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me, it was my third sister who did it. She said that picking some lard residue from the jar to put in the soup would make it more fragrant. My eldest and second sisters were working in the backyard and wouldn't have known. After picking it out, they put it back where it was and it wasn't visible. It turned out that the cabinet was too high and the jar was too heavy, so my third sister didn't hold it firmly and it fell."

At last, he nodded heavily and said, "What I said is true. It's not me who is greedy. It's my third sister who is greedy."

"Saya, come here!" Xu shouted.

How could San Ya dare to go over at this time? She was still struggling and said, "Si Ya is wronging me. It's not me, it's Si Ya. Mother, you can't wrongly accuse a good person."

"Oh, good man, come here!" Xu sneered and walked over to grab Sanya's hand and said, "There's so much oil on your hand and you still say it's not you, I'll let you quibble!" After that, she grabbed the broom and hit it hard. After more than ten hits, the broom was broken, which showed that she had used all her strength.

Daya and the others wanted to stop her, but they were frightened by Xu's look. A jar of lard was indeed very precious to farmers. Some poor families could not even finish half a jar of lard in a year.

San Ya cried so hard that she almost died. She had no feeling in her buttocks. Her cries were so sharp and piercing that they attracted people from other rooms. When Zhang heard the reason, she went back without saying a word.

It was hard to deal with Li either, so she sighed and went back without saying anything. Ma didn't leave, but leaned on the eaves of the door and said coolly: "Oh my, I used to think my second brother was so capable. He never rested all year round, and he kept making money for the family and sent Ping'an to a private school. But now the children at home can't even have a bite of the lard they crave. It's really hilarious!" After she said that, she actually covered her mouth and laughed. Seeing Xu was so angry that she said nothing more, she turned around and went back in a good mood.

Zhang Laoer also felt very embarrassed. He always believed that men should work outside and women should work inside, and men should only be responsible for making money. Apart from asking more about his sons, he would leave the affairs of the daughters to Xu. He always thought Xu did a good job, but today he was really embarrassed. With Ma's gossipy nature, the whole village would know about it in less than half a day.

Thinking of this, Zhang Laoer also shouted at Xu angrily: "How can you take care of the children? When have our children ever been short of food and drink? Even if they are girls, they can't be compared with sons. I think our girls are much better off than other girls in the village. I didn't say that they should go out with only one change of clothes. A girl who is only ten years old has a reputation as a glutton. How can she live like a human being in the future? Which family would dare to marry her? Is this what you taught her?"

After hearing this, Xu felt worse than being slapped in the face. She felt suffocated, as if the days before she gave birth to a son, when she was looked down upon and blamed by everyone, had returned.

After thinking about this, Xu stopped what she was doing, threw away the broken broom in her hand, and walked out with San Ya, her face frighteningly calm.

They walked all the way to the village's laundry pond before stopping. San Ya had a bad feeling and cried even harder out of fear. At that moment, she felt extremely regretful and wondered why she had to be so greedy for that mouthful of lard.

Xu grabbed Sanya by the back of her collar and threw her into the pond, where she stood. Several large stone slabs had been laid out to facilitate washing. The water wasn't particularly deep, but for a ten-year-old, it was chest-high. The weightlessness of stepping into the water frightened Sanya, who clutched the edge of the slabs tightly. She kept shouting, "Mother, mother, please forgive me! I won't do it again!"

Xu said calmly, "If I don't give your gluttony a good shake this time, you'll be in for a shameful time. Just reflect on your actions in the water and don't get up!"

After saying that, Xu turned and left.

The water was already a little cold in October, and San Ya was shivering with cold after a while. Slowly, the sun set, and her body was numb from being soaked in the water. However, thinking of the look in Xu's eyes before she left, San Ya didn't dare to get up.

On this side, the family saw Xu taking San Ya out, and she came back after a while. They thought that San Ya was lost. Zhang Laoer couldn't help but ask: "Where is the child? It's almost over, but could she really be beaten to death?"

Xu said calmly, "Don't worry, he won't die. I don't believe there's any disease that can't be cured."

Although it was the parents' responsibility to discipline their older sisters and children could not interfere, but more than an hour had passed and the third sister still hadn't returned, and it was getting dark, Zhang Ping'an felt something was wrong. Daya and Erya were also secretly anxious and kept looking over to ask questions.

Finally, Zhang Ping'an couldn't sit still any longer, so he said he was going to go play with Jinbao, and then he ran out. He remembered that his mother was walking west, so Zhang Ping'an turned back and forth twice but didn't see anyone. On his way back, he ran into the Dahu brothers. He didn't intend to pay any attention to them, but after thinking about it, he stopped and tried to ask, "Did you see my third sister this afternoon?"

"Your third sister? I saw San Ya being taken to the pond by your mother in the afternoon, and she was crying quite hard," Dahu replied.

"What? Pond!" Zhang Pingan exclaimed.

After saying that, he ignored Da Hu's questioning voice and ran towards home. He ran about ten meters and then stopped and ran back, anxiously asking, "Brother Da Hu, is your father home?"

"Hey, why are you running? My dad is at home, what's the matter?" Da Hu was confused by this back and forth and didn't understand.

"Nothing, I have something to ask Uncle Daqiang."

As he said that, he ran into Dahu's yard. Dahu's father was lying on a rocking chair in the yard. Zhang Pingan rushed over and asked, "Uncle Daqiang, can you help find my third sister? She went out to play in the afternoon and hasn't come home. Brother Dahu said she went to the pond. I'm worried that she accidentally fell into the water."

I was so anxious that I almost cried. I hope nothing happens to me!

Daqiang saw that the child's expression didn't seem fake, and since it was a matter of life and death, he immediately stood up and said, "Oh, this is terrible. Some places near the pond are very slippery. Come on, I'll go with you to take a look."

The pond was not far from Dahu's home, and they arrived there after walking for seven or eight minutes. Daqiang took a look and saw that it was indeed Sanya from Zhang Laoer's family standing by the stone slab. He hurried over and pulled the child up.

San Ya was already a little dizzy from the cold. In the end, she couldn't climb out of the water. She didn't have the strength to grab the stone slab. She could only lean on it as much as possible to avoid falling. Her body was like a lump of ice.

"Third sister, how are you? Can you hear me?" Zhang Pingan leaned over and asked.

San Ya opened her eyes hard and looked carefully. After realizing that it was her own younger brother, she fainted with relief.

Daqiang quickly picked up the person and sent him back.

Zhang Laoer was surprised to see the child soaked. When he heard Daqiang say that the child accidentally fell into the pond and that he should be careful not to let the child go alone in the future, he responded awkwardly. Knowing that this was definitely not the case, he took the child and thanked him.

Daqiang went back after seeing that everything was fine.

Daya quickly carried her sister to the bathroom in the backyard, asked Erya to boil water, gave Sanya a hot bath, and poured her a pot of ginger tea before carrying her to bed and letting her fall asleep.

Xu watched coldly and did nothing. She didn't know whether San Ya was in good health or the ginger tea worked, but she didn't develop a fever after soaking in cold water for more than an hour, and she woke up the next morning.

My eyes are swollen like peaches.

After getting up, Sanya didn't dare to say anything and stood timidly beside the bed. Daya went over to pull her and said, "You've learned your lesson. Don't be greedy in the future."

San Ya said with tears in her eyes, "I will never be greedy again."

Daya pulled Sanya to the table to have breakfast. Sanya was beaten so hard yesterday that she limped when she walked. Zhang Laoer and Xu Shi didn't say anything and just drank their porridge in silence. Although their faces were still not good, they didn't mention what happened yesterday. This storm was over!

San Ya breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this and was secretly glad!